Toddler Times
by Rosesdancinginmymind
Summary: How about her first time being sick and/or hurt, her first nightmare and the first toddler fight with mama... just saying – nannyalberte. Mills Family Fluff - Cora with a heart and a toddler Regina in EF.


_How about her first time being sick and/or hurt, her first nightmare and the first toddler fight with mama... just saying – nannyalberte_

_Thank you for the prompts. You can read this as a follow-up to Firsts but it can be read as a standalone. Cora has her heart so AU. Toddler Regina time. I don't own Once or its characters. Apologies for any mistakes and I hope you like the fic :) _

Cora loves her life. More than ever she is so glad she chose to keep her heart in and stay with Henry. Doing so gave her a chance to raise her daughter and realise that love is more important than power ever will be. She's enjoyed every minute of raising Regina and celebrated each and every first. Cora was worried that as Regina grew there would be less and less firsts to celebrate but she was wrong. As her daughter turned three and entered toddlerdom Cora found there were more firsts. Some that make her smile. Others that are hard. All of them mean that Cora goes to bed with a grin on her face because she is the one Regina calls Mama.

* * *

Regina is three years and four months when she first falls ill. She had colic and teething problems when she was a baby but since then she's been perfectly healthy.

Cora knows something is up when she isn't woken up by footsteps pounding down the hallway and her daughter leaping onto her bed and jumping her awake. She's used to her toddler running the halls full of energy and excitement.

Today when she enters Regina's room her daughter pouts up at her from her bed looking tired and pale. "Mama I don't feel so good," she grumbles as she stares up at her mother for help. Cora smiles sadly before kneeling down next to her daughter. She places a hand on Regina's forehead noting how warm she is.

Seeing her baby girl sick makes her heart ache and she vows there and then to do anything she can to make her daughter feel better.

They have nurses and maids in the palace but she doesn't get them. Sometimes Henry asks her why she doesn't just use the help they have but truth be told she'd rather look after Regina herself than pawn her off on someone else. Her mother wasn't around to raise her and she wants to be there for her daughter.

She runs a cloth under some water before wringing it out and placing it on the tot's forehead for a few minutes. Cora pulls it away before looking at her daughter, "How's that?"

"A little better but I still feel hot."

Cora nods before lying down next to her daughter who snuggles into her. "Rest honey."

"Stories?" Regina asks tiredly.

Cora smiles dropping a kiss on Regina's dark curls before pausing to think, "Okay, once upon a time there was a little girl who loved horses….."

(The Next Day)

Cora smiles brightly as she feels someone poking her arm. She flicks one eye open and sees Regina sitting up on the bed prodding her. When her daughter sees her mother is awake she grins, "I better now Mommy."

Cora smiles back, "I can see that." She places her hand on her daughter's forehead and notices that her temperature is back to normal. _Thank god_ she thinks happily. Her daughter can be a handful at times but Cora much prefers it when Regina is her usual happy, excitable self.

She tickles her daughter's tummy before kissing the top of her head, "Glad to have you back munchkin."

"Me too. I don't like being poorly," Regina says authoritatively, "I not gonna get sick no more."

Cora chuckles, "I hope not baby but if you ever do I'll be there."

"Good 'cause you is the bestest storyteller ever!"

Years ago the only title she cared about was a royal one. Now she couldn't care less about where she is in the royal line up or about being a princess. She'd rather be the bestest storyteller ever than a queen any day.

* * *

Her daughter now that she can run is clumsy, very clumsy. Most times Regina doesn't care. She just shrugs it off and carries on with whatever game she's playing.

Cora on the other hand jumps up at every bang or bump prepared to run to her daughter's aid. More often than or not Regina has just run into something with no consequence and there's nothing to worry about.

Over the years she's gotten to know her daughter's cries and noises. There's her pretend cry which often has Cora running only to find that Regina is playing with her toy baby doll and looking after it. There's a happy squeal that makes Cora smile. There's the scared scream whenever a spider enters the room that has Regina clambering into her mother's arms.

Then there's the cry that breaks her heart.

This is the one that sounds through the castle today and Cora runs towards the nursery. She can hear Regina sobbing which means she's hurt herself. Cora hurries into the room to find Regina howling on the floor and clutching her knee. She kneels down before cupping her daughter's face in her hands, "Honey it's me. It's Mama. Are you okay?"

Regina shakes her head before moving towards the only person she wants to soothe her. She loves her Daddy but she's a Mommy's Girl. "Mama I felled down and now I have a poorly knee," Regina sobs. Cora hugs her daughter closely before sitting Regina on her knee. "Okay let's have a look." She can see a bruise forming on Regina's knee.

Luckily it doesn't look too bad but she knows that for a three year old, especially hers, it's pretty upsetting.

As Regina's mother she knows just how to soothe her daughter's pain and cheer her up again. She looks at her daughter, "You know how I can make it better?"

"How?" Regina asks with a sniff.

"A Mommy magic kiss," Cora replies.

Regina smiles, "A what?"

Cora leans down before kissing the bruise on her daughter's kiss and smiling up at her, "Does that feel better now?"

Regina nods, "Yep."

"See? A Mommy magic kiss," Cora declares and Regina giggles before hugging her mother.

* * *

One night when Regina is nearly four she comes running into her mother's room. She shakes Cora awake frantically and her mother is instantly full of panic. She quickly picks up her frightened and shaking daughter and hugs her close as scenarios pop in her mind. Has her worst nightmare come true? Has Rumple come from her daughter? Has some other intruder?

"Mama I had a scawy dream," Regina sobs into her mother's shoulder and Cora visibly deflates with relief. She was terrified that someone had come to take her child away from her but tonight is not the stuff of her nightmares. Instead it is another first. Her heart aches as her daughter shakes in her arms and she knows the dream must have scary. She wants Regina to be happy even in her dreams.

"What happened sweetie?"

"There are monsters in my room," Regina announces.

Cora smiles at her daughter, "There are no monsters Regina."

"There are. They're under the bed and they only come out at night and that's why you don't see them."

"Well why don't I go find them now and get rid of them?"

"No!" Regina cries, "If you do they'll get you and I don't want 'em to hurt you. We need to stay in here and then tomorrow you can monster-proof my room so they can go away."

"Why do we have to wait until tomorrow?"

"'Cause they can only get you when it's night. When the sun is up then they hide but you'll be able to get 'em 'cause you never let anything hurt me."

"That's right," Cora replies. Her daughter's imagination is incredible and Cora can't help but smile at her stubbornness though she suspects it may get Regina into trouble later on. "Okay then so we're staying in here tonight?"

"Yep," Regina replies before sprawling out onto the middle of the bed, "Night Mama," she whispers before falling asleep.

Cora laughs at the sight of her daughter spread-eagled. She sighs before tucking Regina in and then rolling into a free corner of the bed. One thing she's learned since becoming a Mom is that when your child climbs into your bed they normally kick you out as well.

* * *

"Regina please pick up these toys," Cora says as she enters the playroom and sees teddy bears scattered everywhere. They may have help in their house but she still wants her daughter to do things for herself.

"I don't wanna," Regina replies with a huff. She's in one of her sulky moods today which often leads to lots of tantrums and stubbornness. Cora knows she cannot let Regina get away with everything no matter how adorable her daughter is.

"Well you have to," Cora tells her.

"Why?" Regina whines throwing a bear across the room.

"Regina if you get the toys out you have to put them away. You can't just leave them in a mess."

"Why?"

"Because you have to look after your stuff," Cora replies, "Now come on and put them away. It will take five minutes."

"No!" Regina yells stomping her foot on the floor.

Cora frowns, "Regina Maria pick up your toys."

"You do it!" Regina shouts kicking another toy on the floor.

"I didn't get them out," Cora says, "Now pick up your toys. Look I'll even help you do it. Okay you pick up half and I'll pick up the rest."

"NO!"

"Regina," Cora warns. She hates it when her daughter gets in these moods. It's so difficult to get her to do anything and Cora hates yelling at Regina but sometimes it's hard to get her to behave. Most days she's lovely and they have fun. Then there's days like this wherein a simple task that should take two minutes becomes a ten minute battle. The joys of parenting a toddler.

"I not doing it," Regina says stubbornly folding her arms across her chest.

"Then you can forget about having ice-cream today," Cora replies.

Regina's little face falls and her lips wobbles, "You the meanest Mama ever!" she cries throwing herself to the floor. Cora feels a tear spring into her eye at those words but quickly wipes it away knowing her daughter doesn't really mean it. It still hurts to hear though. Cora sighs before picking Regina up and sitting in the corner, "You can sit there until you decide to help then."

She begins slowly picking up the teddy bears as Regina sniffs and huffs her way to calm. She's put away four bears on a shelf when a little hand tugs at her skirt. She looks down and sees Regina holding up a stuffed dog. She takes it before placing it on the shelf, "Thank you Regina."

"I help now Mama," Regina says before hugging her mother's leg, "Sowwy."

Cora smiles before picking her daughter up and hugging her properly, "I know you are honey. Love you."

"Love you too," Regina replies with a smile, "And you not mean. You the bestest Mama in the whole world."

"Well I have the bestest daughter in the world," Cora tells her. There may be hard moments but it's all part and parcel of being a mother. She knows the tantrums are a phase and that there will be more naughty moments or bad phases in the years to come. At the end of the day there are plenty of good moments that outweigh the bad. She wouldn't trade being a Mom for anything in the world and she can't wait to see what other new firsts and milestones they'll meet along the way.

_Thanks for reading :) _


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